sacrifice life for righteousness; die for a just cause
Tone colorsmāmámǎmàma
Meanings
1 sense · 4 examplesverb
to give up one's life for the sake of righteousness; to sacrifice oneself for justice
literaryOriginating from Mencius (《孟子·告子上》): "生，亦我所欲也；义，亦我所欲也。二者不可得兼，舍生而取义者也。" (Life is what I desire, but righteousness is also what I desire. If I cannot have both, I will forsake life and choose righteousness.) Used in formal, literary, or historical contexts to describe heroic sacrifice.
Wén文
Tiān天
xiáng祥
níng宁
kěn肯
shě舍
shēng生
qǔ取
yì义
，
yě也
bù不
yuàn愿
bèi背
pàn叛
guó国
jiā家
。
Wen Tianxiang would rather sacrifice his life for righteousness than betray his country.
Zài在
wēi危
jí急
guān关
tóu头
，
tā他
xuǎn选
zé择
le了
shě舍
shēng生
qǔ取
yì义
。
At the critical moment, he chose to sacrifice his life for righteousness.
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Shě舍
shēng生
qǔ取
yì义
de的
jīng精
shén神
shì是
Zhōng中
huá华
mín民
zú族
de的
chuán传
tǒng统
měi美
dé德
。
The spirit of sacrificing one's life for righteousness is a traditional virtue of the Chinese nation.
Zhè这
wèi位
yīng英
xióng雄
shě舍
shēng生
qǔ取
yì义
，
jiù救
xià下
le了
shí十
duō多
míng名
rén人
zhì质
。
This hero sacrificed his life to save more than ten hostages.